My wife and I (mid-50's) had our youngest daughter and her husband (both late 20's) join us this year on a 7-day Quetico trip.  They did just fine, but I have to admit an inward smile or two as they struggled with wind and/or portages.  One portage, was particularly long and steep - son-in-law and I portaged the canoes across and as he was putting his canoe down, he said, 'that's the hardest thing I've ever done.'  I replied, 'great, now let's go get the packs'........

kypaddler:

The comment from the 20 something isn't surprising too me.
When I was into the health club workout scene, I had friends who taught various group exercise classes. From aerobics/step/spin and circuit classes that combined aerobics with weights, I was almost always the oldest guy in the room.

 The young 20 something girls and guys would come in and you could see by the look on their faces that they thought they're were in the senior fitness class and that they were not going too get the hard workout they were looking for.

 Most classes start with a slow warm-up and then they kick into high gear. They also have times when your jumping back and forth between endurance and working at YOUR highest heart rate that's within the safe limit for your age and fitness level.

The "kids" would be jumping and shouting during the warm-ups and looking at us "older" people like we were DOA

Well, an hour long class taught by the right instructor, is like a paddling trip, all about endurance and economy of motion. By the middle of class the kids were sucking wind, stopping for water and walking in back of room too catch their breath.

Meanwhile the "dinosaurs" were kicking butt and continued doing so until the cool down and stretch part at the end.

 ANYONE can go like hell for a short period, maybe even a hard paddle day. But getting up the next day and being able to give a good days effort is another thing. Part is physical, learning how to work hard when you need too, and "conserving" when you don't

The biggest thing IMHO, is the mental toughness. Life/work is a grind. Some days suck but you show up anyway. Learning that hard fact of life translates into recreational activities as well. On a long trip or a short one with obstacles, I'll take the mentally tough dinosaur over the young physically strong "buck" any day. Some will rise too the challenge, but many just want to quit. After all we live in a society that gives kids Trophy's just for showing up  Unfortunately, in the real world, that doesn't get the job done!

kypaddler:

Die a contented man...that's a noble goal, well worth the effort.

Tim

On our last trip we had four 50-somethings (one of the guys may have been 60), a 40-something and an early 20-something who looked to be strong and in decent shape.

At end of the first (long travel) day, the college kid -- even though he'd been one of the ones who got to single portage -- ate a quick supper, took a handful of Ibuprofen and went to bed really early.

At end of the trip, he sighed and said something along the lines of "it's embarrassing to be half everybody's ages and barely be able to keep up. That first day kicked my *&^$#."

Sounds like most others on this forum have had similar experiences, or rather live them every day.

I hope to emulate you fellows. If I'm wandering the woods at 83 like rmb's grandfather, I will die a contented man.

-- kypaddler

My grandfather made has last trip with us at 83. He was tougher than most well through his 70s. He lead us through a massive 6 hour bushwack when he was 79 and I was 19, barely made it through myself.

It was a pretty tough decision for him the year he decided to not go back.

Mad Mat:

Retirement is the best job I ever had. My wife, however, complains, "You never get a day off."

Tim

My Dad was 80 on his last Quetico trip with me and my Brother - like you stl, we wanted to do another trip with Dad.  I don't remember the particulars, but it would have been something like 120 miles and 50 or more portages.  I still consider that to have been one of the toughest trips I have ever done, mostly due to conditions.  We didn't let my dad carry the 69# Grumman, but he did carry a pack each trip across the portages - we double trip.

In hindsight, I wish I'd started getting lighter gear back then, rather than a few years later.  Now, I've gone to ultra-light gear for everything, planning on continuing my trips to Quetico as long as I can - making the trips a lot easier, even now,  by carrying less weight.  If I'm not in the Q at 80 (I'm 58 now) it'll be because my knees give out, but I'm planning on being there.  Looking forward to retireing someday, so I can spend more time, maybe longer trips, and trying some other loacations.

I have a magnet on my file cabinet. It reads: Fish Hard, You Can Rest When You Die.

Tim

"Two old"?? When you're dead...?

How old is too old? A number of years ago the director of my Ph. D. research asked me, "How many more of those trips are you going to make?"

I answered, "One too many."

I was 71 last spring and the guys with me, ranging from 5- to 20-years younger than I, agreed I was the toughest guy on the trip. And we did a rugged bushwhack.

So my answer is, "it depends." Fitness, character of trip, quality of gear -- all of which have been discussed above.

As a footnote, sleeping on a Therma-rest, with wadded-up jackets for a pillow, I sleep great on the ground.

Tim